British Citizenship – Good Character Requirement FAQs

[kaboo]

Call 101 and ask them how can you request data police has on you. They'll explain what do.

[michael76]

Hello, please I need an advice urgently. I am applying for my UK naturalisation on 15th of this month October through NCS, but I am very worried. In April 2013 my Wife called police on me out of anger, was taken to police station, accused of carrying a stolen phone which I knew was a lie because the phone was bought new in Germany. After few days I received a letter from the station that my case has been NFA'd no further action and should come to station for my phone which I did and phone was given to me. I only signed for the phone.
Please
1.Can my application be refused because of this?
2. Should I declare it in the application form?
Thank you.

Please any advise on the above as I will soon submit the application and don't want to take a risk. Thanks

[laatif]

Hi All,

Did you see any case in this forum where some one Naturalization as well as ILR cancelled due to non recorded court fine and at time of Naturlization application court fine date was almost five years before. I informed to NCS about court fine and after checking the letter they said ignore this as its more than five year old offense and non custodial .

I did not declare this offense in ILR as well as in Tier1 as I was believing its non recorded and its fine which I have paid so need to declare .

I think they consider only offense which happened in last 3 years non custodial and more than three years old non custodial conviction don't need to declare because these are non recorded ?

Senior please advise

[phani_9]

Dear Everyone,

I applied for Naturalization on 2nd of Oct and i do not have any Criminal Convictions but I have below traffic offenses which i declared on Page-15 and would like to know if they have any impact on my application please ? I declared all of them as guided by NCS in Sheffield.

FPNs:

Feb-2014: Speeding (Only one in last 12 months) - £100 fine paid in time and 3 points on License
April-2013: Speeding (no points but referred to Speed awareness course)
Jan-2011: Speeding - £60 fine paid in time and 3 points on license - currently expired

Jan-2013: Congestion Penalty in London for 2 days - £60 per day paid in time

Am i ok as i have only one FPN in last 12 months ? or because of others, do the Homeoffice Case worker see them as numerous offenses and possibly refuse it ?

I have seen mixed responses on different forums to declare all of the FPNs (even minor) but some suggested to declare only the ones in last 12 months. I am not sure if i did the right thing declaring all of them or not ?

Any advice on it is really appreciated.

Cheers

[rsa707]

Hello Amber et al
I would be applying for British citizenship soon. However, I received a Penalty Charge Notices couple of months ago for driving in a yellow box when prohibited. I have challenged this PCN to council and waiting for reply. Council can issue a notice of acceptance or Notice of Rejection. If it is a Notice of Rejection. Then I will have two options, one to appeal again in PATAS and second to pay the PCN.
My question is if I receive a Notice of Rejection from council and pay the PCN, will it be considered as a non custodial offence and will effect the Citizenship application.

I am concerned about the following Q3, although in this case it will be not be from court but by council.

Q3 - What is a non-custodial conviction?

A non-custodial conviction will include instances where the defendant has been convicted at court but not sent to prison (e.g. issued a fine but see the note in question 1) and will also include simple and conditional police cautions and certain hospital orders. If you have multiple cautions this may also be grounds for refusal even if 3 years has lapsed.

Also note that if you plead guilty by post for a traffic offence or are found guilty at court for a (even minor) traffic offence, this will amount to a conviction.

Looking forward to your reply,
regards

[michael76]

Hello, please I need an advice urgently. I am applying for my UK naturalisation on 15th of this month October through NCS, but I am very worried. In April 2013 my Wife called police on me out of anger, was taken to police station, accused of carrying a stolen phone which I knew was a lie because the phone was bought new in Germany. After few days I received a letter from the station that my case has been NFA'd no further action and should come to station for my phone which I did and phone was given to me. I only signed for the phone.
Please
1.Can my application be refused because of this?
2. Should I declare it in the application form?
Thank you.

Hello Amber,

Could you please advise on above questions? Thanks

[cb13]

Hello, please I need an advice urgently. I am applying for my UK naturalisation on 15th of this month October through NCS, but I am very worried. In April 2013 my Wife called police on me out of anger, was taken to police station, accused of carrying a stolen phone which I knew was a lie because the phone was bought new in Germany. After few days I received a letter from the station that my case has been NFA'd no further action and should come to station for my phone which I did and phone was given to me. I only signed for the phone.
Please
1.Can my application be refused because of this?
No,because it is not a conviction
2. Should I declare it in the application form?
Thank you.

No,it does not have any impact on the application

Please any advise on the above as I will soon submit the application and don't want to take a risk. Thanks[/quot

[beehive]

I just sent my application for naturalisation last week. A few days after, I received notice of enforcement for unpaid penalty charge awarded to a bailiff company by the county court. This is the first time I have heard of this PCN as the original letter from the council was sent to my old address. I have contacted the court and completed a Witness Statement.

I will like to know if I need to sent the UKBA a letter regarding this? Will this have any bearing on my application? Many thanks

[Atri]

Hi All,

Does prosecution notice for over speeding (from Traffic Police Office) need to be mention in naturalization form (AN) ?

To avoid any conviction or penalty point on licence, I have attended the speed awareness course. and matter have settled down... but bit cautious if I still need to mention this in naturalization form(AN). I just have this one speed penalty in last 12 month and don't have any offence or conviction in past.

Can any experts please advise if this need to be mention in naturalization form.

Regards,
Atri

[Atri]

Can any expert please reply on above query ?

[fasaal]

don't worry u r f9. no need to mention it. only caution issued from court need to mention. Good Luck

[Carys]

Hi, I really hope someone can help me... My husband was just about to apply for permanent residency card (a prove of his right to a permanent residency in the UK) after we have lived together in the UK for the last 5 year. I am EEA national and he is non EEA national. Back in February he was sentenced for common assault and had to pay a £300 fine (no prison was involved). According to HO website, as we have been together in the UK for the last 5 years, he is already a permanent resident in the UK and the card is just a prove of it.

Will the fact that he was sentenced for a common assault affect his right to the permanent residency in the UK? Is HO going to refuse his application for the residency card? Is there possibility that they will send him back to his country?

I am so much scared of it as we have a child together here in the UK and it would break our lives.... Please please let me know your opinion? Thank you

[shah_321]

Plz senior help required!!

In 2008 I made a stupid mistake of shoplifting and police issue me a fine of 60 which I paid straight away but due to some error payment has not been received and after a month I received a letter to pay double amount need to paid I don't know remember whether I receive the letter from court or police . I made the payment of the full amount.

I didn't disclose the above when I was making ilr application. Now I have to apply for naturalization in next month do I need to disclose ?

How can I check the police record ?

Plz help Thank in advance

[shah_321]

Seniors plz reply thanks

[fasaal]

if its from court u must declare it even u have not declare it for ILR application. Check ur CRB it might help to find out and u can go to police station to ask them about it they might help u to find out where that letter come from.

[dks100]

Hi Amber,

I require your expert advice for my case. I applied my Naturalization at the begining of August this year and at the end of September I got Contractual parking notification as my free parking time had exceeded the limit in B & M retail parking area.

I have already paid the fine full amount through phone soon I received the letter and got reference number. The message was now your record has been removed from our system when I paid the fine.

This is first parking fine of my life, I do not have any conviction or any thing else, I qualify for the residency and other requirements. I am really need your advise wheather I should let this incidence known to HO as my applicationis still under consideration,

[fasaal]

hiya.

Im sure this notice will be from parking control unit of that shopping center not from the court. u need not to worry about it. no need to inform HO.

[apk123]

Hello seniors.I was travelling on DLR and used my Oyster card. Unfortunately did not notice that the card reader was not functioning. Was issued a penalty fare of GBP 40 which I appealed through IAS. IAS rejected the appeal and I paid the penalty immediately thereafter. My questions are as follows
1. Does this have any bearing on my naturalisation application?
2. Does this qualify as an FPN?
3. Does this need to be declared in the application form for naturalisation?

I have spent the entire evening googling without getting anywhere. I found a lawyers' site which mentions that using public transport without paying the correct fare could affect the application
(http://www.inhouselawyer.co.uk/index.ph ... -youre-out) the article further mentions the below

"In relation to FPNs used to dispose of minor offences without the need for the recipient to attend court, as there is no admission of guilt involved in the processing of the fine, FPNs do not form part of a person’s criminal record. However, if a FPN is received and challenged by the recipient, but the fine is subsequently upheld by the court, then it would be treated as a conviction and will result in the recipient failing to meet the good character requirement. Although an erosion of civil liberties, clients should therefore be advised to pay any FPN, even if unjustly received rather than risk the failure of any challenge. In the event a FPN was not received in the first instance and the matter is escalated to court without the recipient’s knowledge, as soon as the order is received, the fine should be paid and discretion should be requested in any naturalisation application."

As you can see, my concern about FPN arises out of rejection of my appeal by IAS. It would be a great help if anyone can help answer the queries.

[Alfher]

Hi there,

From https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... let-an.pdf

A “non-custodial offence or other out of court disposal that is recorded on a person’s criminal record” (i.e. line 4) includes Fines, Cautions, Warnings and Reprimands, Community Sentences, Civil Orders, Hospital Orders & Restriction Orders and Potential Court Orders.

I got a fine for driving without insurance that is not recorded on my criminal record.

Will my Application normally be refused if the fine occurred in the last 3 years?

Many thanks,

Kind regards.

[mac212]

Hi. I have a question, I have been convinced last year and was given a suspended sentence - 8 months suspended for 18 months. As I read it is treated as a non-custodial sentence, therefore, (now the bit I am confused) I have to wait 3 years from the end of the sentence (so when the 18 months ends) or from the date I was convinced? someone help please

[fasaal]

Hi. I have a question, I have been convinced last year and was given a suspended sentence - 8 months suspended for 18 months. As I read it is treated as a non-custodial sentence, therefore, (now the bit I am confused) I have to wait 3 years from the end of the sentence (so when the 18 months ends) or from the date I was convinced? someone help please

hiya.

according to my knowledge ur time start from the date when u were convicted. plz also read this

Q8 - I have one non-custodial sentence but 3 years has not lapsed, will they still refuse me?

If you have a single (one) conviction (non-custodial) and it occurred within the first 2 years of the 3 (i.e. you have had no offences within the last 12 months), there are strong countervailing factors which suggest that you are of good character in all other regards and the decision to refuse would be disproportionate then it may be deemed an exceptional case and your application may be granted (exceptional grant under section 10(b) of Chapter 18, Annex D) despite 3 years not lapsing since the date of conviction. It may be wise to only try this where the non-custodial sentence was for a 'minor offence' and did not involve drugs or violence for example. See also, Q8A.

[mac212]

Thanks fasaal. Can anyone confirm that?

[fasaal]

its not from me i just post it from here. read 1st page

http://www.immigrationboards.com/britis ... 36725.html

[mac212]

Note: it has now been decided that a 'suspended sentence' will be treated akin to a non-custodial sentence, unless 'activated'.
Q2 - Non-custodial convictions
If you have been convicted for a non-custodial offence then your application will be refused for 3 years since the conviction was given

Okay so it means that 3 years from the conviction. Therefore, I still have to wait year and a half. Can anyone just briefly let me know is it worth bothering with the application as I committed a serious violent crime year and half ago (I have no other conviction, I was 17 when I committed the crime), the court didn't sent me to jail but it was really close, alternatively I was given suspended sentence - 8 months suspended for 18 months and probation. I moved to the UK at a tender age (about 10 years ago), I went to school here and currently studying at college and working part-time. Any chance for the British citizenship?

[denzilbrazil]

I need some advice please.I have a 2 issues

1.I have ILR and have been in Uk with my British wife since 2008, and this year 2014,( 6years later) I started thinking of applying for citizenship.
But I have been running a car hire business for 2 years, as a sole trader, I have cars that I rent out and there has been numerous PCNs on those cars, I had sent representation for the pcn to the councils, some where cancelled , but some we had to pay and chase the drivers to pay us back. But one of the cars was bought in my name when I started the business , as my business did not have any funds to buy its own cars, so I took a lease in my name to start the business...

Now with the good character requirement, I am concerned whether this PCn might still affect my application , even if i write an attached letter explaining the issue with my car hire business. So any advice would be helpful. Should I just close down the business ,and wait another year, so that there is no PCN and apply.


2. Second issue is this , my wife and I just got great job offers which would require us to live abroad for 2.5 years in the USA. I am looking to take the job as it is quite favourable, so I was thinking to buying flight tickets to fly back to Uk every 2.5 months , especially since we have a mortgage in the Uk .....my question is if I travel outside uk for 2 months and come back, stay a couple of days and then travel out again for another 2.5 months ....(ie 2.5 months abroad, 5 days in Uk, 2.5months abroad, 5days in Uk, etc ), would this jeopardize my ability to apply for citizenship 12 months later ....especially if my numerous pcns and car hire scenario above now require i wait another 12 months from now.

Please any advice would be most helpful.


Ok on a lighter mode, with the obvious pcn connection to good character, it seems to me it is safer for any applicant to simply sell their car and only use public transport for 12months ...right?